


Promise Me

by LonesomeRoad



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 02:57:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14369406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonesomeRoad/pseuds/LonesomeRoad
Summary: He promised her that he'd always be there, he lied. Ash ventures out into the Capital Wasteland to search for her father. She returns to Vault 101 nearly a year later, and Butch almost doesn't recognize her. Where was Nosebleed? The little girl who cried whenever she fell. Determined to find her again, Butch vows to keep the promise he made her all those years ago.





	1. Chapter 1

September 5th 2262

"Captain! There's rocks ahead and the Classem is still onto us! What do we do?

"Onward Lieutenant Braveheart, surrender is not an option! We escape the corrupt traitors who have infiltrated the Armada or we go down with the ship!"

"Yes sir Captain Audax!" Lieutenant Braveheart saluted and ran off to secure the sail's ropes, which were flying everywhere due to the wind from the storm. Captain Audax stood at the helm, holding steady, not quite sure she was ready for the jagged, deadly rocks ahead, but nevertheless, she was ready to try. Wind whipped her blonde locks, which were only slightly secured by her Captains Hat, all around her face, but she took no notice, "Onward," she whispered to the raging sky, "Onward, to victory or noble deaths."

James Conner and Charles DeLoria stood in the former's living room, watching their children with amused expressions.

The two four-year-olds had just met, and the two had been playing together since, having an extremely riveting time as pirates. They crawled all over their makeshift cardboard box pirate ship whilst brandishing foam tubes as swords and babbling gibberish at the ceiling and each other.

Charles nudged his friend, "Hey," he muttered softly, "Thanks for this," he motioned to the playing kids, "Butch doesn't have many friends and Ellen. . ." the man sighed and rubbed his face wearily, "Well, you know how Ellen is"

Charlie swiped his black curly hair out of his face, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He truly was the father of Butch DeLoria, they looked exactly alike, same hair, same eyes, same everything.

James gave a sympathetic smile, "It's alright Charlie, don't think anything of it," he turned back to watch his daughter, "Ashton needed a friend as well, the Overseer doesn't like her playing with Amata, besides," he flashed a grin, "she was wondering who the 'nice boy' down the hall was,"

Charlie's jaw slackened and he stared at his friend open-mouthed before his face stretched into a smirk and a loud chuckle escaped him, "Oh my god," he laughed, "You know have no idea how many times Butch asked to go talk to the 'pretty girl'."

Grinning conspiratorily to each other, the two father continued watching their kids.

February 11th 2263

After months of playing as Captain Audax and Lieutenant Braveheart, Butch and Ash decided that the characters had run their course and that their story was over. They, after years of evading of the evil Admiral Malum and his ship the Classem, went down with their ship. There was a prompt funeral in which two hand drawn pictures of the Captain and the Lieutenant were cremated and their ashes spread in the Connor's fully drawn bathtub in tribute to their time at sea.

After a tearful goodbye, Butch and Ash immediately combined forces to create new characters.

Thus, Mage Heather and the Knight Galloway were born.

They, in a land of dragons and magic, had many an adventure together on their quest to save the dragons from the evil Duke Richards.

After them, came the Valiant Starship Captain Mina and her First Commander Noman.

May 27th 2264

Tears streamed out of Ash's eyes as she sat against one of the walls of the Vault, a little unsure of where exactly, her face was buried in her arms, her shoulders shaking.

Wally Mack had ambushed her earlier, she had been walking back home from the clinic when the older boy came up to her, she had never really liked Wally Mack, but Daddy said to be nice to everyone, no matter what. So she tried being nice to Wally too, but he had called her a freak, pushed her over, and stuck gum in her hair. When she had started crying, he only laughed and called her more named until she ran away.

She made her way to here, wherever 'here' was.

"Ash?" Butch's voice echoed down the hall, sounding timid. The girl's head shot up and she covered her mouth, hiccuping, tears still eeked out, blurring her vision, but she could just barely make out a figure coming towards her.

"Ash?" he crouched next to his best friend and she frantically tried wiping the tear streams from her face, only for them to be replaced not even a second later. "What happened?" he asked as she gave up on stopping the tears and covered her face with her hands.

She shook her head, still unable to control the sobs that came out of her mouth.

A warm feeling surrounding her, Ash stopped for just a moment to peek at what it was, Butch had embraced her. His arms wrapped around her fiercely, his head buried into her shoulder, "Please don't cry, Ash," he mumbled against her Vault suit, his voice hitching slightly, "I don't like seeing you cry, it makes me sad."

"A-and even if you don't wanna tell me what happened.. I'll still be here," He shifted and looked up at her, smiling.

Blinking, Ash felt the tears stop, and, managing a smile back, she turned and hugged Butch back.

"Does this mean you're not sad anymore?" he asked and Ash nodded. Pulling back he grinned and grin with one front tooth missing. "Come on!" he exclaimed, standing up and pulling Ash with him, "We gotta make you extra happy now!" He began making his way down the hall, "Like in the stories! Happily Ever After!"

Ash giggled at her best friend, "All the princesses get married before they get their Happy Ever After, though,"

Butch stopped, as if he hadn't thought of that, before whirling back to her, his missing-tooth-grin back on his face, "Then I'll marry you!" he beamed, rocking on the balls of his feet.

Ash blinked, her face slowly forming a grin of its own, "Really?" she asked.

Butch nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! If we get married we can have a happy-ever-after and I can make sure that you're never sad again!"

Ash giggled, "How can you make sure?"

"Because!" He grinned at her again, reaching out to hold both her hands, "I'll always be there and I'll always protect you," His eyes sparkled, "I promise,"

Ash grinned, feeling so much happier than she did before.

November 21st 2264

Butch and Ash stood together under the paper-mache makeshift altar James and Charlie had constructed. It was a simple arch fitted to the heights of the two six-year-olds and encircled by a fake plant vine Charlie had luckily found in storage.

The best friends grinned at each other, Butch's hair was, for once, tamed back into a slick and smooth hairstyle and he wore an extremely old suit, a tad too big, that his dad said to only wear on very very special occasions.

Ash's bouncy curls gathered up into high pigtails encircled by two brightly colored (blue) ribbons and she had on a pink dress the Dad said used to belong to her mom.

They were currently exchanging the rings(which were simple plastic rings they got from Stanley) while they said their vows.

"I promise..." Ash wondered aloud, clearly having not entirely thought them through, "that with me as your wife, you happy-ever-after will never end, and that I'll always be here to make you laugh!" A second later Ash grimaced and quickly added, "I'm still the captain of the spaceship though,"

James and Charlie chuckled as Butch quickly launched into his vows, "I promise that I'll never make you sad, and that I'll always protect you, and that I'll keep you happy," He gave a lopsided grin and Ash grinned back.

"Alright," James cut in, "You may kiss the bride now,"

Butch, still grinning, reached up on his tippy-toes and kissed Ash on the forehead.

Charlie whooped and James gave a soft smile as their children grinned at each other and ran off to play.

The 'wedding' was forgotten in a week, but neither threw away their rings, preferring to keep them safe.

While the two hoped that they could just play like that forever, it was not meant to be.

Two years later Charles DeLoria died, and Butch no longer wanted to play, he kept on waiting by the door of their apartment, waiting for his dad to walk in. He and Ash grew apart, though she kept trying.

When school started up again, he made friends with Wally Mack and Paul Hannon and grew even more distant from his best friend.

December 27th 2266

"What do you mean?"

The eight-year-old girl stood in the middle of the room, looking at her best friend with tears in her eyes.

"Just what I said," Butch sneered at the girl, "Go away,"

Confusion seared Ash's insides as her eyes prickled. Why was he acting like this? She and Butch had been best friends for years, practically glued at the hips, they were always running around causing mischief and mayhem among the other vault residents, you could never find one without the other.

And now there was this.

They had been drifting apart for a while, even more so since he made friends with Paul Hannon and Wally Mack. Ash had been hoping that when she gave him his birthday present, a switchblade she had bribed Officer Gomez into getting her, it would all be okay then.

Obviously though that wasn't meant to happen.

The switchblade lay forgotten on the floor, and Ash was on the brink of tears.

"Butch," She whispered, her lower lip trembling as she stepped forward, tentatively reaching out for his sleeve.

"Go away!" Butch yelled, slapping her hand and pushing her away, "I don't wanna hang out with any dumb girls!"

She stumbled back as the first few droplets began to trickle down her face. Butch had promised that he'd never hurt her, that he'd always be there. His broken promise slammed into her, knocking her inhibitions away and she began to cry.

"D-don't say that Butch," Ash whispered, once more stepping towards him.

"Don't you get it! I don't want you here! We're not friends! Go AWAY!"

Butch shoved her again, Ash fell, hitting her head against the corner of the metal table, hard.

Her head was swimming with pain, tears obstructing her vision. She didn't notice the large cut that now adorned her upper right forehead pouring blood, nor the way that Butch looked on in horror, seeing how he had hurt her. She didn't notice the way her father stood just down the hall in their living unit, having heard every word, or even the way that blood and tears gushed down her face respectively.

All she knew was that she wanted to get away from here. Now.

Staggering to feet, Ash tore from the room, pumping her legs away from Butch.

January 2nd, 2268

Ash stared at the ground as Mr. Brotch droned on about- what was it again? The Hundred Years War? Something like that- something school-related. Butch hadn't talked to her in over a year, not unless it was to insult her or pull her hair.

He had just turned 10, he had no party, but Ellen had taken to the diner for dinner and Ash had taken the opportunity to sneak into his room and leave him a present. It wasn't anything big, just a Grognak comic he'd been wanting to read but hadn't been able to get his hands on.

She hoped he didn't talk to her about it. While she missed him, so much, and them not being friends still hurt, he wasn't the same.

The Butch she remembered was nice and sweet, if a little show-boaty, but he was a good friend who would try and protect her from anything.

The Butch now was mean and cruel and always picking on her, he was a bully and was always trying to make her cry. She hadn't, she was proud to say, she hadn't cried once since his birthday last year, when he made sure she knew that they weren't friends anymore.

Although, she had been subject to many nosebleeds from when he pushed her down, which had earned her the nickname 'Nosebleed'.

She hated it.

July 13th 2268

She didn't want him here. Why did Dad invite him?

Ash forced her gaze to stay away from Butch and his band of little assholes. Well, except Paul, Paul had always been nice to her. They sat at the centermost table in the cafeteria as her tenth birthday party progressed around them.

They were ignoring everyone, which was perfectly fine with Ash, she didn't want to talk to Butch, or even be near him. He had become a bully, Ash being his prime target.

It hurt her, more than anyone knew, Butch used to be the one person in the Vault that Ash would've gone to with anything, save her father. He knew everything about her, and she thought she knew everything about him.

She carefully kept her distance from him, avoiding any and all forms of contact with him.

He wasn't going to ruin her birthday.

October 15th 2274

Ash had her first kiss at age 16.

She had been dating Freddie Gomez for a few weeks, they weren't official, and nobody knew yet, simply because they were trying to find whether or not they would work as a couple.

They were perfect together.

Freddie was so considerate and sweet, he was respectful and never stepped past Ash's boundaries. He was kind and they worked well together. He and Ash had back-and-forth conversations where words came easy. They never grated on each other's nerves and enjoyed the time they spent together.

They had a great relationship, it was functional, easy... it was perfect.

But even so, something was missing.

The night before they were scheduled to take the G.O.A.T., she and Freddie met up in their usual spot. A hallway in the Lower Level, one of the lights had been out for a while, so nobody passed through at night.

Ash was propped back against the wall, Freddie leaning in over her, his hands at her waist, a glint in his eye.

She was supposed to be feeling something, right? Arousal or attraction? Freddie was feeling it all right, she could feel it very clearly against her stomach, but Ash just wasn't.

She knew that this was supposed to excite her, but it just wouldn't come, she just couldn't manage to feel anything more than a mildly lukewarm sensation for Freddie. Which she thought was actually pretty unfair to him, she had felt it before, but she didn't right now.

Freddie leaned in a bit closer, breathing a bit heavier. Ash went to her tiptoes to reach herself up and-

Fssshh

She froze, a pit of dread collecting in her stomach at the sound of the door mechanism.

"Well look what we have here,"

Ash felt like screaming, the blood draining from her face as Butch's voice assaulted her senses. She glanced over, finding that the Tunnel Snakes had barged through the door. Wally had a smirk on his face, Paul looked surprised, Butch was leaning against the wall, arms folded, with what looked like a forced grin upon his face.

"..."

"..."

This was not good.

"Well Nosebleed," Butch managed through obviously gritted teeth, his voice was tight, angry, "If I'd known you were this easy I would've snuck into your room a long time ago."

Ash's face flamed, she and Freddie quickly retrieving their own limbs and separating.

"What are you doing here, Tunnel Snakes" Freddie gritted.

Butch raised an eyebrow, "Boys, I think we better teach little Gomez here some manners."

Freddie narrowed his eyes, "You wouldn't dare,"

Butch threw his head back and laughed, a forced, ugly sound, "What, because of your daddy?"

He stood up straight and walked over to Freddie, the few inches he had on him allowing the Tunnel Snake to lean over him, "I ain't afraid of you, or your daddy,"

Ash pushed the arrogant ass off of Freddie, "Leave him alone!" she yelled, standing inbetween the two boys.

Butch narrowed his eyes at the girl, she was a full head shorter than him, and easily half his weight, yet she stood against him like this didn't matter.

A smirk pulled at his lips, "Ya know," he drawled, motioning for Paul and Wally to come up behind him, "I think someone needs to teach you some manners as well,"

He moved so quickly, it was almost impossible to trace his movements. In mere seconds he had lifted Ash up by the waist and was halfway down the hallway before she managed to start yelling. He didn't bother looking back, he knew what was happening to Gomez.

Ash pounded against Butch's shoulders, screaming at him to put her down.

Once they reached the janitors closet, Butch shoved her inside, closed the door, and pushed her up against the wall.

He stared down at her with half-lidded eyes, his mouth open, breathing heavily. His hands were planted firmly on the wall on both sides of her head, one of his legs in-between hers. The closet was dark, the fluorescent light above flickering and glowing dimly. There was no temperature control in this room, as there was in the rest of the vault, and the seeping cold began to prick at Ash's skin.

The warm feeling that refused to come when she had been with Freddie suddenly hit her, hotter than she'd ever felt it.

She glared up at him, "What the hell Butch!" she demanded, anger coursing its way through her system. "What makes you think you have the right to-"

"Aw, shut up, would ya," he moaned, rolling his eyes, "You know you could do better than little Freddie Freak Gomez, right?"

Ash narrowed her eyes, offense rearing its ugly head, "What's it to you!" she snapped, choosing to ignore the fact that he was steadily pushing himself against her, and that she couldn't escape due to the fact that he had her pinned against a metal wall.

She didn't care, she jerked her chin up, glaring at the hair-obsessed asshole.

Butch's gaze sharpened, "You're damn frustrating, ya know that you piss me off?"

He leaned over Ash's smaller figure, getting intimately close, his arms braced against the wall beside her head, "You're such a goody-goody," he whispered, his voice dropping to a low rasp, a deadly smirk upon his face.

Ash found her attention focused on his lips as they shaped the words, had they always been that full?

Biting her own lip, she forced her attention back to his eyes, which now had a glint in them.

"I wonder.." he whispered, lowering his head to hers, his breath fanning over her, somehow raising goosebumps, "if we could break you of that,"

Ash's brow furrowed, "What do you-"

And Butch promptly sealed his mouth with hers, she froze, but as Butch expertly molded his lips against hers, she found herself kissing him back.

Her hands made their way up and tangled themselves in his hair, pulling him closer. His arms left their stations at the wall and wrapped themselves around the little blonde girl he found so irritating. On hand was on her back, allowing him to press closer, while the other had made its way quite a bit farther south.

Oh god, she was kissing Butch DeLoria, not just kissing, they were having a full-on makeout session in the dark janitors closet. She was cheating on Freddie. It felt wrong, and yet, so right at the same time.

Butch licked her bottom lip, asking for entrance, Ash gasped, he took the opportunity.

It was like dancing almost. Their tongues entwined with an almost feral ferocity for one another as a passion she didn't know she had rose inside Ash like a tidal wave. Freddie had never made her feel this way, not even once.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, neither coming up for air, locked in a silent battle.

And then, far too quickly, it was over, Butch had pulled away, just barely. His forehead leaned against hers, his lips just barely touching hers. Ash blinked her eyes open, breathing heavily, a small, "Oh," escaped her, sounding breathless.

So that's what he meant.

She felt Butch smirk against her lips, "Serves you right," he breathed against her, and the way his lips ghosted against hers only made her, against the logical part of her mind, yearn for more.

They stayed like that for a second, their lips just barely feathering a touch against each other, tantalizingly close and yet still too far away.

With a final ghost of a kiss, Butch pulled away and stepped back, wearing that dumb, crooked grin of his.

"See ya around Nosebleed," he murmured, walking out the door.

October 16th 2274

Ugh. The G.O.A.T. Anxiety for the dreaded test created knots in her stomach as she neared the classroom. Her father had been amused at Ash's feeble attempt at faking sick. Of course he wouldn't be convinced, but she had at least hoped.

This test was going to determine the course of her entire life.

The mere thought scared her beyond belief, she had no idea what she wanted to do, and one single test was going to decide it for her.

A grimace appeared on her face as she heard voices coming from up ahead. Of course, it wasn't just the G.O.A.T. she had been trying to avoid.

"Get out of my way you stupid Tunnel Snakes!" Amata's voiced lashed out.

"I can show you a real Tunnel Snake, Amata," Butch's voice lowered, his tone suggestive.

"God, Butch, why don't you just leave me alone?"

"What are you going to do, Amata, go run and tell your daddy on us?"

"Ugh,"

"Daddy's girl! Daddy's girl!"

Ash approached the group that surrounded Amata, eyes narrowed at the asshole that had stolen her first kiss.

He didn't steal it her brain reminded her, you kissed him too, remember?

If Butch had been smirking before, it was nothing compared to the expression that dawned upon his face when he spotted Ash, "Well well well," he muttered, all but ignoring Amata now, "If it isn't ol' Nosebleed,"

He grinned evilly, arching an eyebrow, "Sleep well?" he mocked, amusement in his eyes.

Heat flooded her cheeks, he knew damn well that she had barely slept at well, they were neighbors, he could hear her tossing and turning. And Butch, despite appearances, was smart enough to ascertain the reason why. She already knew that Butch would never let go of the fact that he kissed her, and she kissed him back.

She stuck out her tongue, muttering a brief, "Fuck off," before grabbing Amata's wrist and dragging her friend into the classroom, finding that the prospect of facing the test was more appealing than dealing with Butch's bullshit.

"Thanks for that," Amata murmured as they entered the classroom, she was fuming, oblivious to the fierce blush that decorated her friend's face.

"Ashton, Miss Almodovar," Mr. Brotch greeted the both of them, a smile on his face. Amata mumbled a small 'hello' before stalking off to her desk.

Offering an apologetic smile, Ash opened her mouth to greet the teacher when a hand landed on the curve of her back, making her tense.

"What's up Mr. Brotch," Butch's cheeky voiced piped up as his chin came to rest on Ash's shoulder, his other arm winding lazily around her waist.

Brotch closed his eyes, sighing, his eyebrow beginning to twitch. "Mr. DeLoria, Miss Connor, to your seats please."

Ash immediately ducked out of Butch's arms, running to her seat as quick as she possibly could, a furious blush coloring her cheeks.

She should not be thinking about Butch's lips, she should not be thinking about that, and she should not be wanting another one.

There was a chuckle behind her and he headed to his desk, trailing his fingertips over Ash's collarbone as he passed.

No, no, no! She shook her head vehemenently in an effort to dispel the memories of last night.

August 17th 2277

Adrenaline coursed through her veins, she had made it, she had made it of the Vault.

Ash paused in the tunnel to outside world as the door to 101 began to close behind her. She was leaving everything behind her, just minutes before, Butch had given her his favorite Tunnel Snakes jacket.

Leaving felt wrong, but she had no other options left. She felt like she was leaving something important behind, something she would regret giving up.

The door to her home shut with a 'thud', effectively leaving Ash to the mercy of the Capital Wasteland.

With one last look behind her, she kicked open the tunnel door and stepped into the light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Hallo there, here's Chapter 2, now I'm skipping ahead quite a bit, I'm going right to when Amata calls for help, no Wastes til later. Again, I apologize for the jumpiness, but I sincerely thank everyone for the reviews and hope you like the chapter.
> 
> This one is mostly gonna take place in the vault, and I'm almost done jumping around, the real story starts here-ish.
> 
> Oh and I'm adding this as an afterthought, but since this story is AU, Paul is alive.
> 
> Repeat.
> 
> PAUL. IS. ALIVE.
> 
> I just love him too much for him to die hehe :D I feel like we never really got to explore his character, and that's sad :'(

He almost didn't recognize her.

Butch had been put on guard duty outside the hallway because he was the only one with a gun, which he had stolen from Officer Gomez, and he had raised it when footsteps began thumping on the stairs, whatever he had been expecting, it hadn't been this. She walked in like she owned the place, and Butch didn't believe it was her.

In fact, if it weren't for the scar on her forehead, the scar he gave her, he would never have believed it was Ash.

It wasn't so much her physical appearance that made him believe it wasn't her, it was her expression, the way she held herself, the way the biggest gun he'd ever seen fit comfortably in her arms. It was the hard, unforgiving look written on her face. This wasn't the girl he grew up with. Her expression was dead, and her eyes, the blue orbs that had once seemed so bright, so full of life and hope, were now cold and hard, all spark vanished and gone.

She wasn't any taller, her skin was the same shade it had always been, and she still wore her vault suit with Butch's jacket. Dirt and grime spotted her face, and what looked like blood was smeared on her cheek and colored her hair. The blonde locks were no longer arranged in neat, bouncy little curls that framed her face, it was longer, and she had gathered it into a high ponytail.

At her heels trotted a dog, happily panting and wagging it's tail, behind them was probably the biggest man ever in the existence of humankind. He was almost seven feet tall, with no skin and heavily muscled. Wispy red hair dotted his scalp, and he carried a large shotgun in his arms.

Ash slowed to a stop when she saw the teenager assigned to guarding the door, her blue eyes skimmed him, calculating, assessing, and the barest flicker of a smile ghosted across her face. The big guy, noticing that their weapons were trained on her, stepped forward, his shotgun swinging upwards.

"Easy, Charon," Ash mumbled, holding her hand out in a signal to lower the instrument of death, "He's friendly," her tone seemed to imply 'He better be,'

Butch felt no desire to spite her.

He blinked and, shaking himself out of his stupor, lowered his beaten up 10mm pistol, feeling the pitifulness of it compared to the guns Ash and the skinless guy had strapped to almost every inch of their bodies.

Her voice was the same, but different at the same time.

It was harder now than it was before, and there were threads of authority, a sense that she could not be denied, whatever she said went. However, under the commands, the threats in it, it was still full of the same warmth, the same unending compassion, kindness, and sincerity.

A smile made it's way onto Butch's face, this was Ash.

He stuck his hip out and propped his arm up on it, allowing his other one to swing freely at his side. His old cocky smirk was back as he looked down at her.

"Heya Nosebleed," he drawled, slipping the pistol back into its holster at his hip, "Didn't figure I'd be seeing you around here anytime soon. But you just had to run back to the Butchman, didn't ya? Well, can't blame ya, no woman can resist a Tunnel Snake."

His feeble attempt at a joke was met with complete silence on Ash's part, her expression seemed not to have changed, she just stared at him. That's what he thought, at least until he saw the humor shining in her eyes, the warmth having returned.

Satisfaction shot through him, hope following closely behind, his Ash was still in there.

Her eyes soon left his though and traveled to a point just behind him. Spinning around, Butch found Amata standing him, eyes wide in astonishment as she stared at her childhood friend. Her mouth opened and closed several times with no sound coming out.

After a moment she managed, "How did you-?"

Ash held up her left forearm, showcasing her Pip-Boy, which seemed relatively unharmed, and quirked a solitary eyebrow.

She came without threats, without violence. She resolved the situation with only her words, not a single drop of blood shed. Her friend, Charon as she called him, stood always at her side, no words, always silent, just a presence, a heavily armed and intimidating presence, mollifying any threats that may have been made against her were she alone.

Ash didn't even blink when Amata banished her, she didn't beg, didn't flinch, didn't even get angry. She simply said that she understood and walked out without another word, though Butch had noticed a slight hardening in her eyes when she had been speaking to her childhood friend.

He followed her silently, he was positive that Ash knew he was there and was grateful that she didn't seem to care.

She, along with her dog and the hulking figure at her shoulder, was stopped as they passed through the Atrium, Wally Mack stood in their way.

His wooden bat was slung over his shoulder, and he held himself as if he were confident.

Butch narrowed his eyes, knowing Wally, it was likely that the ass-kissing bastard was about to do something stupid.

"So," he boomed, a smirk on his face, gazing at the blonde.

Ash simply stared at him, unamused.

"I heard you were banished," Wally sneered, swinging the bat forward, "Good thing, too, we don't need any of your kind around here."

She quirked an eyebrow, "My kind?"

If it was possible for Wally to sneer more than he already was, he did. Butch could feel exasperation filling him, mixed with a fair amount of amusement, Wally actually thought that he could take Ash, the girl who had survived a year, alone, in the Wastes.

"You and your damn father," Wally took on an aggressive stance, eyes narrowed, "If it weren't for that traitor-"

He was cut off by the swinging up of Ash's shotgun, the barrel pointing straight at him.

"Kid," Charon rumbled, stepping in front of the apparently homicidal girl. The first word he'd spoken since he'd entered the vault filled the room, he spoke softly, but everyone could hear him perfectly, "You better back off, she doesn't take kindly to anybody insulting her dad."

Wally turned his attention to the muscled giant of a man, his sneer growing ever larger, "Don't tell me what to do, you fucking zom-"

She moved so quickly that Butch couldn't even be sure that it happened, in less than a second Ash had Wally pinned up against the Atrium wall, a wickedly sharp trench knife held up to his neck. The youngest Mack's face drained of color.

"Finish that sentence," the blonde murmured, her tone terrifyingly calm, "I dare you," she pressed the knife further into his skin and blood began to run down his neck. Wally looked like a ghost by now and, for once in his life, seemed to have nothing to say.

A crowd had gathered by then, and what looked like the entire vault's population had gathered.

Allen, Stevie and Susie Mack looked outraged, but none did anything to stop Ash.

Amata looked on in horror, her father, standing at her side, mirroring her expression. Christine Kendall had her hands covering her mouth, shocked beyond belief while Mr. Brotch looked unsurprised, bored even.

The vault was silent, watching Ash in shock and horror, before leaving the vault, she had been unable to hurt anything, she was so soft and kind, letting anyone walk over her if it meant other's happiness. And now here she was, pressing a knife to the throat of Wally Mack.

"Don't-" she seethed, her face in Wally's, "insult my father. You are not even close to being nearly half as much of a man as he was." Ash's grip on the knife was tight, the skin on her knuckles white.

Charon approached tentatively, as if approaching a bomb that might go off at any second.

"Kid," he murmured, his gravelly voice surprisingly comforting, "Let him go, you know that if you do this you're gonna regret it,"

"Maybe I won't" she retorted, voice sharp and lashing, "He insulted you, he insulted him."

Charon stopped his advances as the knife pressed farther into Wally's neck.

"He's just being stupid," the man reasoned, keeping his tone neutral, "He doesn't know, come on, calm down, how would Three Dog react if he learned that you killed one of your childhood friends?"

Her face contorted with disgust, "He's not my friend! He never was! And he- he-!" Ash's voice became garbled and she cut herself off, a single, solitary, almost invisible tear trailed down her face.

Butch narrowed his eyes, Ash never cried, never, she hadn't since they were children, not once, that left only one question; What the hell had happened out there?

"Hey," Charon spoke again, his voice low, "Just let him go, he's just an idiot and a bigot, he doesn't deserve this"

They lapsed into silence again, she seemed to be considering his claim.

After a minute of intense silence, her head turned and she spoke to Wally once again, "Two seconds," she whispered, voice low and, honestly, quite terrifying, "That's all it would take."

With that last chilling remark, Ash backed away, releasing her hold on Wally and letting him slide to the floor.

There was a thin line of red on his neck as he scampered away, his expression completely terrified.

It didn't have to be said for everybody to know, she could've killed him right there and nobody would've done anything about it. It was terrifying how much she had changed. Amata looked like she didn't recognize her, nobody did.

Butch kind of understood, Ash had lost everything in a few hours. In one night she had lost her friends, her family, her home and had been thrown out to whatever waited beyond the vault door with absolutely nothing to help her.

Everybody here expected her to be the sweet little girl she was before she left.

They were all idiots.

Ash slid the Trench knife back into the hidden sheath in her boot and turned to the crowd that had gathered, there was a collective gasp, her expression was hard, cold, and intense. Butch realized that this is must've how she normally had to act out in the Wasteland just to survive, the neutral face she maintained throughout her return to the vault was a facade, this is what she had become.

She stalked over to the crowd, stopped in front of Amata and, without a word of explanation, grabbed her Pip-Boy and yanked it, and the attached person, over.

Amata stumbled over to Ash, who was comparing Amata's and her own Pip-Boy, furiously typing in God-knows-what.

"Hey Charon," she murmured, her fingers flying the face of Amata's Pip-Boy, "What's the frequency we use to contact Kodiak?"

He replied with a 10-digit long number interspersed with many decimal points.

After a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence, occasionally interrupted by Ash asked Charon for a frequency or GPS coordinates, she dropped Amata's arm, and the girl quickly withdrew it, clutching it close to her person as if she had been burned.

Ash acted as if she hadn't noticed, "Listen to GNR, Three Dog's a bit eccentric, but he tells it like it is, listen to him, follow his advice and you'll be fine. I'll send a couple merchants, faction and settlements reps to trade with you, open up to Lucas Simms, the Brotherhood of Steel, Crazy Wolfgang-" she rattled off a list of names, all of which Amata noted on her Pip-Boy.

"-but they need a passphrase, you have to make sure it's them, so if they don't say... I don't know, 'Be Our Guest,' yeah that's good, if they don't say 'Be Our Guest' don't let them in."

Ash proceeded to give instructions on how the Wasteland was run, the various species that inhabited it, where to avoid, and good trading and bartering tips, Amata taking notes on everything Ash said.

"Oh, and I'll be sending you the kids from Big Town."

This gave Amata pause.

"What?" the new Overseer shrieked, "You can't just-"

She was cut off by the swinging up of Ash's shotgun.

"I will send them here, and you will let them in and give them a home." Ash's voice was that terrifying calm again, demanding she be obeyed. "Little Lamplight kicks them out when they turn sixteen, and they all have to make it to Big Town alone, they're brought up with stories with how great and amazing Big Town is only to find that when they get there they're either dragged off by slavers or Super Mutants. Half the town is dead and the other half has absolutely no hope, besides-"

Ash looked a little smug by now as she lowered her shotgun, "They have a doctor, a damn good one too."

Amata's eyes widened and she looked conflicted, the vault needed a doctor, badly, if they kept Andy as doctor for much longer they wouldn't make it through the year.

"So," Ash smirked and swung the shotgun onto her shoulder, the barrel pointing up, though that wasn't much of a comfort, as her finger was still on the trigger.

"Seeing as how you guys badly need a doctor, people who can defend themselves, and people altogether," Amata's shoulders slumped, and Ash's smirk turned into a triumphant grin, "You can take everybody from Big Town and Little Lamplight."

"Besides," she added, turning around to leave," They have a sentry bot with 'em, you could use protection like that,"

Ash began walking towards the vault door, the people around her parting like the Red Sea, watching her in almost morbid fascination, save Mr. Brotch, who walked towards his former student, a regretful expression on his face.

To everyone's shock, and without a word of warning, he enveloped her in a hug.

Although she, unlike Amata, had always been just an average student, sometimes below, she was determined, and strong, and Brotch had developed quite a soft spot for the blonde over the years.

Ash, too, had always been fond of him, they had had an almost familial relationship, not like that of her Jonas, which had been more like siblings, but rather like an uncle and his niece.

"We'll miss you," the graying man murmured, looking very sad indeed as he pulled back and stepped out of the way.

Sparing him one last, sad look, Ash headed up the stairs out of the Atrium.

And for the second time, Butch watched her leave, not knowing why his chest felt so tight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Butch is a Dumbass

Butch lifted the whiskey bottle to his lips, taking a long drink and letting the burning liquid to slide down his throat.

Everything out here was so different. There were so many people, it was so bright and the landscape was so... open. It kind of freaked him out, how there were no limits to anything, no walls, no ceilings, just space that went on and on without end. And the colors, he'd never seen such natural, vibrant colors. Throughout Butch's life, everything had been neutral and muted, but now that he was out in the real world...

He'd never been the best student, but he'd always paid attention when Mr. Brotch gave them a lecture on the outside. However, Butch had never realized just how different it would be. In the Vault, everything had been muted and... well, boring really.

But out here, out here everything was vibrant and living, everything was much much more substantial, much more... real.

Of course, there was the constant looming threat of death wherever you went, but Butch found that only made things more fun, if a bit terrifying.

Setting down his drink, The Serpent King looked around the bar once more. After getting out, he had joined up with a caravan temporarily and had made it to Rivet City, where he promptly holed up in the bar. The place was rusty, creaky, made of metal, and reminded him of the vault.

He'd heard whispers of Ash everywhere, literally everywhere, he went. Sometimes they weren't even whispers, sometimes they were people claiming to have met the 'Lone Wanderer', or so she was called, sometimes they were rumors of carnage and destruction sometimes they were stories of the Saint who saved them, some people didn't even believe she existed. Nosebleed had certainly made a name for herself out in the Wastes, she was practically a myth, she was a legend, some sort of symbol of hope. There were stories of her doings everywhere Butch went, and there was almost no way to discern fact from fiction.

Recently though, somebody told him of a radio station that told all facts and seemed to follow Ash in her travels.

Ever since Butch had kept his Pip-Boy tuned into GNR ever since, Three Dog was annoying sometimes, but he gave the news the Butch wanted to hear, the news about Ash.

"Hey everybody, this is Three Dog, your friendly neighborhood disc jockey. What's a disc? Hell if I know, but I'm gonna keep talkin' anyway!"

The Tunnel Snake snorted, the DJ was amusing sometimes, yes, but all he wanted right now was news.

"Ugh... What's the matter kids? Feeling down? Low on vim, vigor, and the simple will to live? What you need is the latest news on the Restorer of Faith."

Finally, Butch raised the bottle to his mouth again, waiting for the news.

"Those scumbag Slavers way over in Paradise Falls have one big ole bee on their bonnet. Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Gasp! But what's this? The bothersome bumblebee looks suspiciously like a certain kid, from a certain Vault..."

Ash

"You heard it here first, faithful listeners. The Wanderer showed up at Slaver Central and bad guys started dropping left and right."

Butch narrowed his eyes, what was Three Dog saying what he thought?

"Did they sell her a bum slave and then refuse the refund?"

Please, he internally scoffed, Nosebleed never would've bought a slave. "Or was it some elaborate rescue operation?" More likely. "But more importantly - does it even matter worth a damn? Slavers are dead, slaves are free."

Butch coughed harshly, spluttering as he slammed his bottle onto the table, Trinnie giving him a dirty look, "That's a win-win if you ask me, children.

"Thanks for listening, chiiill-dren! This is Three Dog, OWWWWWW! And you're listening to Galaxy News Radio! We're Radio Free Wasteland! And we're here... for you."

Smooth music started playing and Butch shut the radio off, slumping back in his chair. He'd heard stories of Paradise Falls and the terrifying amount of slavers that lived there. Ash killed all of them? Ash killed? Anyone?

That was a surprise, sure, Butch had seen how she had handled Wally Mack, and he knew that she had had to kill people, he knew. But it was more like he knew stories of old Pre-War, a fantastical and far off truth that he kept in the back of his mind. Knowing it up close though, that, that was different.

Metal creaked all around him, and an amazingly loud screeching sound alerted Butch to the door opening.

Why did so many people live here? And of those why did so many drink here? Gary's Galley was just upstairs, and it was so much better. He guessed it was for the same reason he came here. At The Muddy Rudder, there were surefire ways to find out it someone was watching you, at Gary's Galley you were exposed, vulnerable.

Plus it was expensive as hell.

A pair of combat boots shuffled into Butch's peripheral vision, but he paid the person attached to them no mind, everybody who came here was the same.

"Can I get some Scotch Trinnie?" a voice asked the grumpy bartender, and Butch tensed, he knew that voive.

No.

Slowly, oh so slowly, he turned his head to the side, almost hoping that it wasn't.

But as soon as he caught of blonde hair pulled into a ponytail he knew that oh yes it was.

Ash.

Amata Almodovar walked down the hallway of Vault 101, typing away on her Pip-Boy. It had been a while since Ash's visit, and things had gotten considerably better. The people from 'Big Town' -as Ash called it- had arrived. There were about 10, which, considering that a few more would arrive as soon as they turned 16, would be enough to save their vault.

There was Red, a small girl, no older than Amata herself, she was the doctor, Amata almost hadn't believed that she could do it, but was quickly and fiercely corrected by the teenager.

Then there was a somber girl, Bittercup or something, who seemed to just do what she wanted. There was also Pappy, a cute but grumpy mechanic, Timebomb, who was nice but a bit dim. Kimba, a nice girl who seemed to jump at everything, Shorty, mention his height and death is inevitable, Sticky, naive but eager to learn, Dusty, a paranoid guard, and Flash, who just seemed depressed all the time.

They, along with the Securitron and Protectron they brought with them, had actually been a surprising amount of help. They knew things, things that had never been taught in school, or had been lost over the years.

How to hunt, skin and cook an animal, how to plant seeds, build fences, how to actually fight, not just shoot guns that were so much smaller than what people had out there.

A few of the caravans that Ash had sent also arrived, as had some of the representatives of various settlements.

So far there had been The Crazy Wolfgang Caravan, Crow, Lucky Harith, a Doc Hoff, a man called Kodiak, and a woman called Lana Danvers had all arrived, as well as a man called Lucas Simms, sheriff-mayor of the nearest town.

While they had all seemed pleasant enough, they all, Simms especially, had been slightly standoffish towards her.

Well, maybe 'standoffish' wasn't quite the right word for it.

I'mjustalinebreak

"Password?" Amata asked through the intercom on the door panel, she had been informed of a man at the vault door claiming that Ash sent him and the new Overseer had all but ran here.

There was pause and a second later the intercom crackled and a man's voice filtered through, "Um, the kid said 'Be our guest' I think,"

Nodding to Stanley, who was manning the panel, he nodded back and began the open sequence.

A minute later the giant vault door was open for what felt like the millionth time since Ash had left. A man strolled in, he was tall and muscled with dark skin, he wore an old-time leather Sheriff duster and a cowboy hat perched on his head.

He had a beard and was surprisingly clean for a Wastelander, not clean, as there was still a layer of dust on him, he was just cleaner.

The man had a nice face and a kind feeling about him, but he currently seemed simply impassive and looked at her with a guarded look.

"Lucas Simms," he greeted, stretching out his hand, "Sheriff of Megaton, mayor too, when the need arises," Amata smiled at him and shook his hand, "Amata-"

"I know who you are," he interrupted, leveling her with the most disappointed grandfather look she had ever seen and instantly a pang of guilt shot through her, though she didn't quite know why, she didn't know this man at all.

His intense brown eyes held her in their grip, "Ash talked about you a lot, you know," his voice was soft but Amata had no trouble hearing him, "The kid was always talking about her best friend, the one she left behind in the Vault, she told me stories of you two growing up, I never had the heart to tell her that in each of them you were using her for something."

Amata's throat closed.

"You should have seen her the day she got that radio transmission, she was so happy, she was worried, of course, but she just wanted to see you again."

The guilt Amata had been avoiding for weeks came rushing at her full force.

"She's a good kid," Simms eyes never wavered, he was sure of everything he was saying, "With how much good she's done she could have more'n half the Wasteland to back her up if she asked, and then some. My point is, when she came back from that trip she had a look in her eye.

"You see I've known that kid for over a year now, I was the first person she met when she left this hole in the ground. I was the one who taught her to shoot a gun, how to barter and fight. I watched her grow up, I care about the kid, and I've learned to recognize what her expressions mean. I haven't seen that look in her since her dad died."

Amata's eyes widened, James was dead?

"She was getting a bit better, but then she came here and the look was back. Whatever you did, girl, you broke her heart."

Simms a leveled his burning steely eyes on her and crossed his arms.

"Now," he continued, "Megaton will be happy to trade with you, as will others, but Ash has helped us all in one way or another and we'll stand behind her,"

Amata felt the back of her eyes begin to burn, had she really had that big of an effect on Ash?"

"And girl," Simms gave her a hard look, "make no mistake, everybody you've been talking to and everyone you will talk to, including me, would not have chosen to be here. We're here because she asked us to help you."

There was no lie, no deceit in this man's words. He and all the others were only helping because Ash had simply asked.

I'mjustalinebreak

Amata continued walking down the hallway, whatever Ash had been doing out there this past year, she had certainly made an impact, of course, Amata would be lying if she said she had no idea of what Ash had done out there.

The Vault was preparing to send out scouts and Amata, as per Ash's instructions, had begun listening to Galaxy News Radio. The DJ made many unnecessary remarks and references that she didn't understand, though the Big Towners seemed to find them amusing.

Three Dog actually gave good advice from time to time, such as the kind to avoid Evergreen Mills and Paradise Falls, keep your weapon and armor in good repair, keep away from Yao Guai- which Red had informed her were the descendants of bears -and that surrendering when it came to raiders was useless.

He also reported on Ash, a lot.

And by a lot, Amata meant a lot.

Three Dog had given her childhood friend so many names it almost made her head spin. There was Lone Wanderer, Defender, Sentinel, Ambassador of Peace, Restorer of Faith, Peacekeeper, Dignitary, Ranger of the Wastes, Urban Avenger, Exemplar, Capital Crusader, Paladin, Hero of the Wastes, Paragon, Hero of the Wastes, Wasteland Savior, and many, many more.

Seriously, where did he even come up with that many names?

Three Dog also told the craziest stories, Ash gunning down a horde of mercenaries, Ash killing a community of no less than 20 raiders, Ash blowing up a base with everyone still inside it.

Amata didn't want to believe them, but with how she acted with Wally... but still, over half the stories were far too fantastical to be true. Because really, who in their right mind would storm a Super Mutant keep alone?

It was just too crazy to be true.

Butch blinked several times, processing the information, his eyes stuck on that ponytail.

Belle Bonny approached the counter where the blonde stood, a glass bottle filled with a dark amber liquid in her hands, "Here," her rough voice grumbled, sliding the bottle to the girl, "and be sure to tip good, that's good stuff, untouched by rads, from decades before the war."

Butch's eyes strayed to the bottle, wondering if that was true, squinting a bit, he was able to see the label, which sported a now unrecognizable brand, it also boasted being 15 years old, which he thought may have been slightly outdated.

Searching for a few more seconds, his eyes finally found the year in which it was made and his jaw dropped.

1997.

No fucking way.

A grin edged its way onto Ash's grime-streaked face, which had also been studying the label, "What would I do without you Belle?"

That stuff was almost 300 years old.

The older woman snorted, cleaning a glass and sliding it over as well, "Crash and burn,"

Untouched by radiation.

Ash smirked, caught the glass and poured the phenomenally old liquid into the glass before raising to her lips and taking a sip.

"Damn," A grin spread on the blonde's face as she held the glass away from her face and stared at it, eyes wide, "Trinnie, where'd you get stuff like this?"

Bonny rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to her vigorous glass-cleaning which, at this point, seemed to be almost ritualistic for her.

Butch let his attention back to his oldest friend, who was taking another sip of her scotch. She hadn't noticed that he was here, but then again she probably just ignored him, assuming him to be another of the drunks that seemed to be so commonplace in the Wastes.

Letting his whiskey bottle back to the counter, Butch had to let his hands run through his hair just in case.

In case of what, he wasn't exactly sure.

"Well if it ain't my best gal," he smirked, watching Ash closely.

She tensed, and her back straightened up, she was surprised, that much was obvious.

The blonde suddenly whirled to face him, eyes sparkling.

"Butch," she grinned, sliding closer to him along the counter, "So I see you finally made it out of the hole in the ground,"

"Yup," he winked at her, "That place just couldn't handle all this pure awesomeness," he slid his hands along his chest, "So I had to jump ship,"

Ash rolled her eyes, smirking and leaning against the counter, taking another sip out of her glass, "So, how'd you make it to Rivet City," her eyes twinkled knowingly, "The Butch I remember wouldn't have made it this far."

Butch huffed and took another swig of his whiskey, "If you have to know," he all but pouted, "I joined up with a caravan and got here a few weeks ago,"

They continued on like that for a while, banter and quips and small stories on what had happened to the other and he, for a while, forgot everything that was happening.

Until, that is, Ash asked him to accompany her on her travels.

Oh, he wanted to, he really wanted to, so, so bad.

But he didn't deserve her, far from it actually.

And so a rejection paired with a flimsy excuse about being a goody-two-shoes fell from his lips. Ash's face grew impassive as he spoke, her eyes achieving the same hard type of coldness they'd had last time she'd spoken with Amata, and Butch's heart clenched.

"Well then," she said, corking the scotch and tucking it into the pack hanging at her hip, "If that's all, I must be going."

Ash dug in her pack for a second before pulling out a small pouch and leaving it on the counter, obviously payment for her drink.

She strode quickly towards the stairs, ascending them in a matter of seconds before pulling open the door to the rest of the old aircraft carrier.

And, for the third time, Butch watched her walk out of his life.


	4. Chapter 4

God her feet hurt.

Ash kept up an internal dialogue with herself, well, an external dialogue really, but Charon never really responded unless she said something outlandish so it was basically the same thing.

Still, as her mouth chatted off the old ghoul's ear she did keep up a dialogue on the inside too, one that he couldn't hear.

Ow ow ow. Her mind repeated the thought each time, without fail, her foot hit the ground.

Okay, so maybe it was a mantra.

And maybe it was possible that Charon might've known she was thinking it.

But that wasn't the point.

They were walking, they had been walking for days, well, two days, but still.

And, as they walked, Ash couldn't help but become continually more and more disappointed in the world, a continuing thought that only increased in intensity as they got further south.

There were many stories of the days before the war, a time when things were better, resources were plentiful, and everything was at peace. They were far off tales, of course, stories of comfort to be told to the young or the weary or the dying. Everyone knew that they had been true, once upon a time, but those days were long since gone, and the desolation of the Wasteland was all anyone knew.

Grey landscape stretched all around, topped with gray clouds and a gray sky. Black, shriveled, leafless husks of what were once trees dotted the ground, doing nothing more than act as ornaments.

She surveyed the world around her with scrutinizing eyes, she had never been very sure of what she had expected when she came out of the Vault. But it wasn't this.

What had she even expected?

A blue sky maybe? Some sort of beautiful river or lake? Just a tiny bit of green grass? Life was much more colorful in the Wastes than it had been in her childhood, but it was nowhere close to the rich, vibrant colors she'd seen in the books she loved in her childhood.

The soil wasn't brown, the water wasn't blue, there was no green in the plants, the yellow in the sun was a myth.

Life had been monochrome in the Vault, but out here it was just a fancier form of greyscale.

She remembered reading books about the outside world, where the air was fresh, the ground was soft, and the world was forgiving. Those books had lied, she now knew. Maybe they hadn't always been lies she liked to think, but whatever the case they certainly were now.

"Hey," Charon's hand landed on her shoulder, drawing her out of her reverie, "Come on kid," he grumbled, "We don't have all day,"

Rolling her eyes, the blonde trudged after the ginger giant, contrary to what he just said, they did have all day. The 'quest' (or so Ash had taken to calling her jobs, it sounded cooler) was sending them down to the southern tip of Chesapeake Bay, and the boat that was going to take them back to DC wasn't going to arrive until they sent for it. The trip was going to be a long one, with an uncertain return date.

She wasn't crazy though, this was for a reason, despite her reputation as a wanderer she never went anywhere without a cause.

One of the Pre-War ghouls in Underworld had finally snapped, and, upon the Lone Wanderer's next visit to the underground metropolis, had commissioned the blonde to find more music for the radio. Amanda was an old ghoul who had been nearing her 80s when the bombs went off. She'd lived this long out of pure stubbornness, or so Ash thought, she was a tough old lady, kind, didn't take shit.

She happened to be one of the few people that Ash was afraid of.

Apparently listening to the same exact songs for 200 years had driven the old woman mad and, as soon as the chance arose, she offered to pay Ash an ungodly amount of caps to find music from the early 2000s for her.

It wasn't easy, nobody had even thought of searching for new music, there were a few settlers from out west, where there were a few different songs, but they had all come from the same time- the 1950s.

Amanda compared everything pre-war to the fifties, criticizing it almost as much. She complained about how horrible the computers had downgraded from when she had grown up, about how the cars looked stupid, the way pre-war society had resembled a weird fusion of the 50s and a crappy sci-fi novel.

Ash wasn't sure what that was but apparently it was bad.

Trying to find the music was difficult, extremely so. She'd had to get Cross, Charon, Fawkes, and had even bribed Jericho into helping her dig through the National Archives looking for it.

After a full week of searching, they came upon a file named 'Jensen'.

Jensen was a town built in 2033 in tribute to society from the years 1990 through 2030. It had everything from the era, from architecturally accurate buildings to electronics to something called a wiffy and, especially, the media.

The media was the most important part, Jensen had been built with thousands upon thousands of storage drives containing every movie, TV show, play, and songs from something called the 'Millennial/Gen-Z Age'.

What a dumb name.

Snorting, Ash shook her head, it really was a very dumb name, it might've made sense at the time, but now, it was just dumb.

Despite her criticism, she hadn't the slightest notion of what any of it was, and less than that when it came exactly what she was searching for. She didn't even really know where she was going, she had a general area to search for the town and was to send back the coordinates via a courier in Norfolk.

Heaving a heavy sigh, she willed her feet to continue forward, she didn't even know what to be on the lookout for, though she supposed she'd know when she saw it.

-.-

The wind continued to harshly beat at her and she shivered once again, her practically bare arms wrapped around her midriff, which was also bare. Charon had criticized the thin leather armor when she had put it on, but it was all she had.

To her dismay her beautiful, lovely, much warmer and much more protective combat armor had broken last week. Not just a 'replace the torso' or a 'wrap the arm' kind of break, oh no, it was a 'dear god where did all these armor shards come from' kind of break.

Needless to say, she had to leave it behind, for it was useless to her now.

On the bright side, her ass looked amazing. A fact that Charon had heaved several gasping laughs at when she pointed it out.

Asshole, she thought affectionately.

She didn't understand why she just couldn't find a good, regular coat, she knew they existed, but she could never find them. Ugh.

Dogmeat, seeming to sense his master's distress, trotted right up to her, pressing against her side and sharing his warmth. Smiling, Ash ran her free hand through the dogs shockingly soft fur. How could the dog's fur be this soft?

Seriously, shouldn't it be all matted and dirty and tangled? Yes, she silently answered her own question, yes it should. However, despite all logic, Dogmeat's coat remained soft and clean.

Weird, Ash let breathed a small laugh, she wasn't complaining, but it was definitely weird.

"Boss," Charon's voice drew her attention and the tall ghoul motioned forward. An old green dilapidated sign that had probably once proudly read 'Welcome to Virginia' stood only a few feet in front of her small party. Wind-battered, rusty and half knocked over, true, but still it stood.

Spotting the old thing Ash smiled, victorious, they had made it.

Well, sort of, there was still a ways to go, but the sign meant they were at least halfway there she thought optimistically.

-.-

Oh god, oh god, oh dear sweet Jesus, days upon days later it felt like and Ash was moving like a ghoul, everything hurt. Literally, muscles she didn't even know she had ached from the week of constant use. Constant walking, she reminded herself bitterly.

Why in the actual hell would she let herself take this job? Seriously, she already walked a lot, true, but then she at least had time to rest.

She berated and yelled at herself nonstop, they'd been walking 20 miles everyday, nonstop, for ten whole freaking days.

What. The. Hell.

Receiving a hard look from Charon, she gritted her teeth and kept moving, she had to finish the job.

-.-

Wow. That was big.

Ash had seen a lot of things during her time as the Lone Wanderer, since her emergence from the Vault; more than most saw in their life, and as such was not surprised by many things, impressed by even less. However, as she stood as the gate to Jensen, she couldn't not be both, and then some.

The thing was fucking massive.

This was not a town, whoever had labeled it as a goddamn town in that fucking file was the stupidest twat to ever walk the earth.

It even said so on the plaque that was embossed onto the gate doors. Well, it didn't say that specifically, but there were definitely undertones.

There was a town on the other side of the wall, yes, but nobody had ever actually lived in Jensen, it was a museum, a tribute to a way of life long forgotten. And a town couldn't be called a town unless people lived in it, plain and simple.

Oh, and also? Towns usually had this thing about being open, but this?

This thing was one giant-ass dome. Stretching for miles and miles around, a base of concrete and steel at least 100 feet tall before giving way to the top bit, the dome bit, which was made of what had to be the strongest glass known to man.

Seriously. 200 years, a nuclear fallout, radiation-enhanced weather damage and who knows how many raiders and bullets and the thing didn't have one hole in it. Not even a crack.

And, if she went off the buildup of dust and rust on the old gate, nobody had gotten in the place for 200 years, that was for damn sure.

Ash grimaced a bit, well that may have slightly complicated things.

If no one had managed to open it in 2 centuries, then there was no way she was going to manage it, at least, not today, and definitely not on her own.

Huffing slightly, she spun around and began heading towards Norfolk.

After saving the coordinates.

-.-

"You Lonely Ash?" A gruff voice interrupted her pensive brooding and Ash looked up to see a tall, stocky man with a kind look standing before her. Recognizing the name Amanda had chosen for her with quirked lips, she nodded and the man broke into a relieved grin.

"Finally," he groaned, twirling a chair around and dropping down onto the old wood thing to face her, "Been waitin' for almost two weeks, was startin' to think you was got by some raiders,"

Ash watched the man through searching eyes as he chattered, sizing him up. Brown hair, a squarish face, minimal scarring and oddly sincere eyes. Then again looks were deceiving and one could never be too sure.

"Which," he chuckled, sounding slightly abashed, and rubbed the back of his neck in an almost embarrassed way, "I don't mean to offend, but if you was got by raiders, well then, I wouldn'ta received full payment, see,"

He seemed to realize what he had said and, in a second, was spluttering, "Not that money's all I care about! I mean yeah it woulda been sad if raiders got you and yeah I've already been paid but see I got me a kid and-"

She liked him, she decided, he seemed nice, honest.

Silencing the bulky man by holding a hand up, she extended it towards him, a gentle smile on her lips, "It's fine," she assured him, "Nice to meet you,"

The man gave a heavy sigh of relief and smiled, taking her hand hand and shaking, "Name's Wayne," he gave her grin which showed off his surprisingly clean teeth, "I hear you've got some coordinates for me?"

-.- Three weeks later -.-

Ash hated raiders.

She really fucking hated them.

Bullets pounded against the metal shell of the car she'd taken shelter behind, Wayne, Charon and Amanda nearby in similar positions.

Of course some asshole would have this place monitored, anybody with any sense would figure something that had managed to remain that protected for centuries was bound to have something valuable inside, and if the asshole was smart, once they'd failed in opening it they'd watch it, waiting for someone who could. So once she, Wayne, Charon, and Amanda (who had come over to help) had figured out how to, the asshole had attacked with a group of assholes with him.

She sneered, asshole.

"Just die already!" came the angry snarl of a raider somewhere behind her. It seemed like every raider she came across said the same things. The thought ran through her head as she shot one the assholes in the head before ducking back behind the car. It really seemed like that. Do they all just get together, discuss what to scream at people they were shooting and get high?

"I'll tear you apart!" Yup, that's what the last guy said buddy, she shot that one in the face.

The bullets made less pings, good, less assholes to deal with.

"Never should have come here!" an idiot with a purple mohawk rounded the corner, frothing at the mouth, pupils dilated like crazy, crowbar in hand. Oh honey, this was just getting sad, that was actually the worst thing he could've done. Sighing, Ash shook her head in disappointment, the purple-haired dumbass didn't even get close before he died. Dumbass.

Grimacing, she returned to the fight.

Which was pretty much over, what with Dogmeat tearing the last guy's throat out.

What a good boy, she patted his head.

"Welp," Wayne was panting, resting a shotgun on his shoulder, "That was a whole mess o' fun," He panted out, "But I think I'm all funned out for now, if you don't mind, I'll take my payment and be on my way."

Grinning at the man, Ash began checking her weapons and armor for anything she might need to repair later, she didn't hold any resentment towards Wayne for wanting to leave as soon as possible, he had a family to get back to after all.

After Amanda had paid Wayne and sent him walking the old ghoul turned to Ash.

"Thanks," was all she said, her voice creaky, before handing over a large, cap-filled sack and immediately turning to walk through the giant ass doors, which shut solidly behind her.

Smirking, the blonde tucked the sack into her belt, she loved that woman.

"Come on boss," Charon approached her, pushing a Stimpak into his arm, "Lets go,"

Breathing in deeply, Ash let out a sigh and, patting Dogmeat on the head, turned to follow the tall redhead. He was right, it was time to go.

She had work to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Mkay, to start off, thanks for reading, please comment below with any thoughts feedback or comments you may or may not have and all that nice stuff, blah blah blah.
> 
> Now, about the story, it's gonna be a bit jumpy at first, I mean, this chapter was originally just gonna be that one scene at the beginning and then Butch being horrible to Ash as they grew up in little clips, like in the game, then I had to go and turn half the reading into that damn makeout scene. Ugh. Fml.
> 
> Either way, it's just a warning, it's gonna jump around before we get to the actual story, and I'm already planning on spinoffs, and, as I see the Lone Wanderer and the Courier as the same person, there may even be a sequel taking place in the Mojave Wasteland.
> 
> Now, feedback is appreciated and strongly encouraged


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